Ge Mei rubbed her head and replied, "I don't know either. When I was in the water just now, I suddenly heard someone calling for Ma Xiong. The voice was ethereal, yet filled with power. My body felt light and uncontrollable, and I just swam ashore. After that, I knew nothing until I woke up here." Hearing this, we all looked astonished. Ma Xiong thought of the shadowless Ge Mei from before and that pitch-black stone carving, instantly suspecting the carving was somehow involved. He immediately called everyone back to the carving to take a look.

The stone carving still stood there silently. Now that everyone was out of danger, Ma Xiong could finally observe it closely. This carving had a bizarre appearance: human upper body, serpentine lower body. It possessed a delicate face, hard to distinguish as male or female, but its ears were distinctly cat-like, pointed and erect on either side of its head. Its mouth was slightly agape, revealing a bead inside. This bead was crystalline and appeared to be the color of amber. Besides these features, its neck was also strange; proportionally, it was longer than normal, and around it hung a necklace composed of snake skulls. Its hands were held level and curved inward, as if it were embracing a large water vat.

Lu Zong shone his flashlight into the carving's mouth, staring intently, his eyes gleaming, and said, "I say, this bead inside might be quite valuable. Should we try to figure out a way to get it out?"

Ma Xiong shook his head. "This carving is too strange; it’s better not to touch anything recklessly."

Seeing the carving's peculiar appearance, Ge Mei tilted her head, studied it for a while, and then said to us, "Ancient mythology is filled with deities and demons that are human-headed and snake-bodied. Do you think this statue might be a depiction of a figure from those myths?"

Ma Xiong said, "This place is called Snake Tomb (She Zhong), so everything inside is likely related to snakes. It's not surprising that this statue is human-headed and snake-bodied. In Chinese mythology, the most archetypal human-headed, snake-bodied figures are Nüwa and Fuxi. In legends from the earliest ages, besides them, even the Yellow Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu) were sometimes depicted this way. In the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), 138 figures are described as human-headed and snake-bodied. Apparently, this was a very common form of worship among the ancients. In reality, many human-headed, serpentine mythological figures were actually human-headed and dragon-bodied; it's just that ancient illustrations were abstract, leading many later generations to misinterpret them as snakes. Essentially, it was a form of veneration that had no concrete examples in the real world. As for this statue, I suspect it mostly depicts the Queen Mother of the West. Because the Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi) is the Jade Pond (Yao Chi) of antiquity, and the figure most closely associated with the Jade Pond is the Queen Mother of the West, who hosts the Peach Banquets for the assembled immortals." Liu Quansheng nodded and added, "Exactly. Look at the prominence of her chest; those are clearly female characteristics. Standing here by the Heavenly Lake, this statue should indeed be the Queen Mother of the West. However, depictions of the Queen Mother of the West as human-headed and snake-bodied are very rare, and according to the records in the Shan Hai Jing, she didn't look like this at all. The Shan Hai Jing states that the Queen Mother of the West was human in shape but had a leopard's tail and the teeth of a tiger, capable of letting out a high-pitched shriek when she raised her head. Her hair was disheveled, she wore armor, and she was a fearsome deity in charge of the world's penal codes and the spread of plagues. It was only later, through oral transmission, that her image gradually became feminized and gentler."

Ma Xiong looked at the statue again and remarked, "This statue has a majestic countenance, with its hands held level and curved inward, giving the impression that she is adept at strategy and directing the world. This fits the Queen Mother of the West very well. It is strange, though, that the dignified Queen Mother of the West is erected at the entrance of an ancient tomb, serving almost like a door god."

Speaking of door gods, Ma Xiong suddenly recalled how her phantom, along with Ge Mei's illusion, had frightened them into freezing earlier. It seemed this thing indeed served to guard the tomb. He just didn't know how it possessed such bizarre power. Thinking this, Ma Xiong glanced at the stone figure again, secretly musing that while the statue looked ordinary overall, the bead held in its mouth was the most attention-grabbing feature. Could this power originate from that bead?

With that thought, Ma Xiong moved closer, peering intently at the bead through the gap in her mouth. The bead was the color of amber, crystal clear. But as Ma Xiong looked closer, he immediately noticed a tiny object right in the center of the bead, from which numerous vein-like structures extended upwards.

Ma Xiong recognized the object and quickly moved his flashlight away, instantly realizing that the bead was emitting a faint glow in the darkness. Seeing this, Ma Xiong exclaimed in shock, "It’s a Serpent’s Eye Stone!"

Hearing this, everyone rushed to ask, "Serpent’s Eye Stone?"

Ma Xiong nodded. "Indeed. This is an exceedingly rare Serpent’s Eye Stone. A Serpent’s Eye Stone is a naturally occurring mineral, also known as Fluorite. Fluorite comes in many colors, with the colorless and transparent variety being the most precious. They usually form as cubes, octahedrons, or dodecahedrons, but this spherical form of Serpent’s Eye Stone is extremely uncommon. Legend has it that this spherical type is formed when ordinary fluorite absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and can release a very specific energy. There's also a folk tale that snake eyes often possess the power of enchantment, and the Serpent’s Eye Stone, shaped like a snake's eye, holds that same power."

Liu Quansheng asked, "So, the illusion of Miss Ge Mei we saw in the water was caused by this Serpent’s Eye Stone?" Ma Xiong nodded. "Most likely. Its sphere of influence was probably limited to the distance we were at before. Now that we are close, it can no longer harm us."

Lu Zong cursed upon hearing this, "Damn this junk! Scaring us with illusions for no reason! Let's just smash it!"

Ma Xiong said, "Don't bother. Now that we understand the reason, we have nothing to worry about. Let’s hurry and get into the tomb to find the Coiled Dragon Black Gallbladder (Pan Long Wu Dan) of this Black Dragon Imprisonment Tomb, and see what other secrets are hidden inside along the way."

Lu Zong finally remembered the purpose of our journey and immediately urged the others, "Then let's go quickly! If we delay, those three monkeys will get the Coiled Dragon Black Gallbladder first."

With that, the four of us lingered no longer and continued deeper. The place was very dark, and flashlights were not very effective; it seemed the walls of this space were coated with light-absorbing paint. The entire area was suffused with a solemn and imposing black atmosphere, which made us feel increasingly oppressed.

We advanced several dozen meters inward until we reached a dead end. Before us stood a closed stone door, massive, reaching perhaps over four meters high.

Lu Zong stepped forward and pushed the door, finding it utterly immobile. He kicked it angrily and grumbled, "Damn what a crappy door! Don't tell me we need a mechanism to open this one too?"

Liu Quansheng shook his head at this point. "This isn't a stone door at all; it’s a colossal Duan Long Shi (Dragon-Severing Stone). It probably dropped down after the tomb was completed, sealing it off entirely."

Lu Zong asked, "Then how do we get in? We didn't bring explosives!"

Ma Xiong said, "The old way—dig a thief's tunnel (Dao Dong)!"

Lu Zong looked crestfallen, shrugged, and said, "No way? We don't even know how thick these walls are. How long will it take us to dig through?" Ma Xiong shook his head. "Not necessarily. Don't you remember why these Four Great Forbidden Zones exist? It’s to stop people from entering..." Liu Quansheng chimed in, "I think so too. With my Dragon Seeker’s Art (Xun Long Jue) for pinpointing the exact location, I should be able to find the best entry point for the tomb." After saying this, Liu Quansheng took out his compass, glancing at it while sweeping his flashlight around. Then he looked back toward the statue, up at the ceiling, appearing quite professional. Seeing this, Ma Xiong secretly thought that bringing Liu Quansheng along was truly like bringing a treasure.

Lu Zong followed Liu Quansheng, looking left and right, naturally failing to grasp any meaning. He scratched his head impatiently and said, "Hey, I say, Liu Cucumber, you’ve been looking for half the day, just tell us where we need to start digging."

Liu Quansheng replied without turning back, "Why are you in such a hurry? Do you think studying Feng Shui is easy? This not only requires observing the distribution of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements but also aligning with the overall layout of this external space. Ah, well, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it, so just be patient."

Lu Zong snorted upon hearing this and turned his face away.

Ma Xiong then said to everyone, "Let's put on our pistols for now. Once we get past this door, the area immediately inside will be the tomb’s void space (Xu Wei). That void space will likely contain many anti-theft mechanisms and probably some dangerous entities."

Lu Zong took out his pistol, fiddled with it for a moment, and then said, "This little thing, I’m afraid it couldn't even kill a mouse."

Ma Xiong said, "Stop complaining. We brought diving gear this time; it's a minor miracle we could even carry pistols."

After speaking, Ma Xiong turned to look at Ge Mei and found her skillfully manipulating her pistol, ejecting the magazine, reloading the bullets, inserting it back, and testing the trigger's safety. Seeing that she knew how to use a gun instantly relieved him.

Liu Quansheng studied the area for a while longer, then called out to us, "Follow me!"

We looked at each other, then followed Liu Quansheng to the side wall. Liu Quansheng shone his flashlight on the wall and said, "The quickest way should be to dig right here... Huh? Why is there already a thief’s tunnel here?"

We looked at each other, then followed Liu Quansheng to the side wall. Liu Quansheng shone his flashlight on the wall and said, "The quickest way should be to dig right here... Huh? Why is there already a thief’s tunnel here?"

Everyone noticed then that at the base of this section of the wall, there was already a round opening. The bricks here had been pried loose, and the earthen wall inside had been excavated. Ma Xiong presumed the three Zhenhai Monkeys had dug it and told everyone, "It seems the three people who entered before dug this. They probably got inside already."

Liu Quansheng nodded at everyone, then shook his head to himself, sighing, "I didn't expect they would choose this spot to dig the tunnel as well. I’ve long heard that Meng Xiong, the Zhenhai Monkey King, is exceptional at finding entrances, and it seems the rumors aren't false."

Ma Xiong crouched down and shone his flashlight inside, immediately discovering that the tunnel was quite deep. Furthermore, judging by the excavation marks, they must have used a relatively advanced spiral auger; it seemed they had indeed come prepared. After observing for a moment and finding no immediate issues with the tunnel, Ma Xiong turned back to the people behind him and said, "Let's go in. I'll take the lead; you follow behind."

With that, Ma Xiong immediately squeezed inside.

The smell of earth inside the tunnel was very strong, and the air was damp and cold; crawling inside was truly an unpleasant experience. Ma Xiong found the tunnel relatively easy to climb and urged everyone to speed up. After Ma Xiong led everyone for about four or five meters, the tunnel began to bend to the left. It looked like this path should lead directly to the tomb passage behind that Duan Long Shi.

Soon, we passed through the tunnel, crawling out one by one. Ma Xiong stood up and swept his flashlight around the surroundings.

This was indeed a tomb passage. The left end of the passage was the over four-meter-high Duan Long Shi, while the right end stretched straight into the distance, shrouded in pitch blackness where the flashlight couldn't reach. Seeing that we had finally reached the interior of the ancient tomb, Ma Xiong knew that from this point forward, we had to proceed with caution. With this in mind, Ma Xiong turned back and said to the group, "Let’s move forward. Remember to be careful."

Subsequently, the group set off again, walking deeper into the tomb passage.